Mixed Verdict for Ehud Olmert

• As the Arab Spring proves again and again, the Mideast’s problems don’t really revolve around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Ido Aharoni writes in the NY Daily News:

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is neither the defining issue of the region nor the principal source of Arab discontent. Considering the 1,300-year-old span and depth of the Sunni-Shiite divide, the century old Israeli-Arab conflict seems brief by comparison. In truth, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been a convenient sideshow to the real problems within Arab societies and an implausible excuse used by Arab dictators who have ill-served the interests of their own populations and are now reaping the consequences of that neglect.

• How are the elite of Damascus relating to the unrest? The Daily Beast finds blissful delusion:

On the other hand, there is a class of Assad supporters who go about their daily business—pool parties included—while the skyline burns. As if the war is happening in some other place, people drink champagne in the Damascus neighborhood of Mezzah and partake in glamorous fashion photo shoots and go shopping for Versace and Missoni at the luxurious boutiques that line the Shukri al Quatli Street. Despite armed checkpoints and the threat of kidnapping, some still go out at night, attending the opera, meeting friends for dinner, and hosting elaborate wedding parties at the upscale restaurant Le Jardin . . .

For days, I listened to the thumping music and watched the beauties in their fluorescent Victoria’s Secret bikinis partying at the pool at the Dama Rose Hotel, where I was staying. (More than once, I thought of Nero fiddling as Rome burned.) Syria, I realized, has become a schizophrenic place; a place where people’s realities no longer connect.

•Claire Berlinski slams the PR firm, Brown Lloyd James, for trying to help Bashar Assad get away with murder.

• A staff-ed in The Australian lambasts Syria’s bid for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council.

Given that the council previously elected Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi as its chairman, hailed Sri Lanka for its “promotion and protection of all human rights” and held an emergency session to mourn Hamas founder Sheikh Yassin’s death, nothing should come as a surprise.

• Jordanian prosecutors are investigating a parliament member who pulled a gun on an activist during a TV talk show. AP coverage.

• Defying military leaders, members of Egypt’s “dissolved” parliament met. The LA Times gets the Calvinball aspect of it all:

The scenario appeared to fit the perplexing pattern of the nation’s politics — all rules apply yet everything is negotiable.

• Worth reading: Yehudit Grisaro discusses gender equality in the IDF with The Guardian. Grisaro retired from the army as a Brigadier General — the IDF’s highest ranking woman.

Though the Israeli military has a very macho image, the IDF is the most progressive in the world – when measured in terms of gender equality, at least. Almost one third of the force and 50% of its officers are female. In the UK, only 13% of the armed forces are women, while there are only slightly more in the US army (13.4%).

• Turns out that Jewish-American youths have stronger feelings towards Israel than a lot of people give them credit for. Prof. Steve Cohen told Haaretz (click via Twitter) the survey’s results strongly suggest what he called “the Birthright bump.”

“Younger people spent more time in Israel than the 35-44 age group, and had many more friends who went to Israel,” Cohen told Haaretz. He added that although the link between the greater attachment to Israel and Birthright was not proven, it is a “logical inference” from all the data at hand.

Israel acquired the West Bank in a defesive war and should for it’s safety keep all the land it obtained. Like all other victorious countries, for it’s grouth and safety, the loesers should be expelled.

lol, but what i’d really love to imagine, is the bright future of this world once a viable alternative to oil is found!!! those uncivilized Arab savages will be able to drink their oil in their tents once the world is no longer hostage to them..and hopefully then there will be a more honest discussion of the common and rampant Arab human rights transgressions as opposed to the fictional ones attributed to the Israelis.

“Almost one third of the [IDF] and 50% of its officers are female.” So, the IDF is very much gender-biased in favour of female advancement. There is a report stating that female combat soldiers are suffering significantly more physical injuries than their male counterparts, including injuries that have significant long-term impact. We also know that most instructors are female. And now we know that the officer corps is disproportionately female. Do women really believe such a situation is good for women, let alone good for the operational effectiveness of the IDF? Demonstrably, I would say that the answers are in the negative. Anyone would think traditional male roles were more fulfilling…

Why has there been no report or protest on this forum of the BBC World Service permitting an interview with Ismail Haniyeh in the “Hrd Talk” series? I would have thought there would have been an outcry!

* the biblical report is true, that the G-d of Abraham Isaac & Jacob gave Abraham the land from the great river of egypt to the river euphrates; and if

* the biblical prophecies are true, that the G-d of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob, having dispersed all the “children of Israel” will bring them back from where they have scattered;

THEN

* Every inch of land Israel has succeeded from, since 1948, in land-for-peace exchanges will have to be retaken at some point in time. That means the Sinai, that means the Gaza strip, that means any land in Judea & Samaria; that means the land east of the Jordan given to Manessah and Gad; that means portions of Lebanon — and who knows how much more!!

i fully agree with you, but, while its not fashionable to say in these politically correct days, we should also have “relocated” the local hostile population while the chance was there….as had been done many times before in other parts of the world in the creation and destruction of various countries. would the Arabs have done differently? only in that they would first have murdered their vanquished. only Israel’s actions are viewed under a microscope. those of Arab countries are forgiven or ignored outright. how many Jews will be allowed to live in a future Palestinian state? they say the # will be 0. penalty for selling land to a Jew? death. the # of Jews are allowed into Saudi Arabia? 0

Squatting on government land, Gaza style!!
Squatting is a national passtime of the Arabs
occupying Jewish land for the past 400 years.
History be the witness as to the squatting of
Arab nationals in all but one area designated
by the Creator, that is Arabia, the rest has been
quietly annexed and turned to legitimate
countries thanks to the imperialists of Europe.
Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Lybia, Tunisia, Algeria,
To name a few.